Sputtering apparatus

Abstract

There is provided a sputtering apparatus in which a holding body holding a substrate by facing a target in a processing chamber is covered by a deposition preventive plate including a substrate retainer for covering a peripheral edge part of the substrate, and a thin film made of metal is deposited on a surface of the substrate exposed to an inside of the deposition preventive plate. A stopper protrusion protrudes at a portion in which the holding body and the deposition preventive plate face each other from one part to the other part, and face the holding body or the deposition preventive plate at a smaller interval than the interval between the deposition preventive plate and the substrate retainer. When the deposition preventive plate and the holding body are thermally deformed to approach each other during film deposition processing, the stopper protrusion contacts with the deposition preventive plate or the holding body, and the deposition preventive plate and the holding body contact with each other, such that, peeling-off a metal film at a contact portion and mixing in a film deposition region of the substrate are prevented.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A sputtering apparatus, comprising:
 a processing chamber; 
 a target disposed in the processing chamber; 
 a holding body for receiving a rear surface of a substrate to be disposed in the processing chamber so that a front surface of the substrate faces the target; 
 a substrate retainer for covering and pressing a peripheral portion of the front surface of the substrate, the substrate retainer defining an outer edge of a film deposition region of the front surface in which a metal film is to be formed by sputtering the target in the processing chamber; 
 a deposition preventive plate which covers the holding body including the substrate retainer without covering the film deposition region so as to prevent unnecessary formation of the metal film on the substrate retainer and the holding body; and 
 a stopper protrusion provided in a region where the deposition preventive plate directly faces the holding body, the stopper protrusion protruding from one of the deposition preventive plate and the holding body toward the other of the deposition preventive plate and the holding body so as to prevent the deposition preventive plate from contacting the substrate retainer. 
 
     
     
       2. The sputtering apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the substrate has a rectangular shape, and the stopper protrusion is provided at a central part of one side of the substrate, and in the vicinity of corners on both ends of the one side. 
 
     
     
       3. The sputtering apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the stopper protrusion is made of a material having a hardness lower than that of the deposition preventive plate or the holding body. 
 
     
     
       4. The sputtering apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein a tip of the stopper protrusion is formed in a tapered shape. 
 
     
     
       5. The sputtering apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein a plurality of the processing chambers each of which corresponds to the processing chamber defined in  claim 1  are juxtaposed in a straight-line state, the substrate and the holding body are conveyed along a direction in which the processing chambers are juxtaposed, and are sequentially carried into and out of the plurality of the processing chambers, so as to be configured as an in-line type. 
 
     
     
       6. The sputtering apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein, a plurality of the processing chambers each of which corresponds to the processing chamber defined in  claim 1  are radially juxtaposed, and the substrate is sequentially carried into and out of each of the plurality of the processing chambers by an operation of a carrying-in and -out unit provided at a center of the juxtaposed region, so as to be configured as a sheet type. 
 
     
     
       7. The sputtering apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein a recess for containing the substrate is formed in the holding body. 
     
     
       8. The sputtering apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein a convex portion for supporting the back surface of the substrate is provided in the recess.